SOFTBALL

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 19, 9 October 1984, Page 16

SOFTBALL

This Saturday will see the official start of the softball season in the Waimarino when softballers gather on the Patterson Field in Waiouru for an Open Day featuring food, fun, games and an evening social. All players and potential players who wish to participate are invited to gather at the Patterson Field at9am. The non-competitive games will continue through to Sunday. One of the visiting teams for this occasion will be the Totara Park men's softball team from Wellington. Following a very successful season last year (their first) the Waimarino Softball Association is expecting an even more successful one this year, said spokesperson Mrs Diana Swainson of Waiouru.

Twenty teams including one ladies team from Pipiriki will be participating in the Waimarino Softball Association's competitions which start on 27 October and go through until March next year. Two hundred senior players, men and women, as well as about 100 junior players will be involved. The games will be played in a 3-weekly rotation between the following venues: Waiouru (Patterson Field); Ohakune (Ruapehu College) and Raetihi (Recreation Grounds). Players from the Waimarino Softball Association will be chosen for representative teams to play in interassociation tournaments against Bay of Plenty, Counties, Taupo, Wanganui and possibly Rotorua and Manawatu. The selector will be Willie Walker for the ladies' team and Stu Neshausen for the mens' representatiye team. Players are reminded that this year new rules regarding the wearing of protective gear have been introduced. The New Zealand Softball Association — to which the Waimarino Softball Association is affiliated — has ruled that batters rhust wear a protective helmet and catchers must wear a throat protector.